Mr. Speaker, I just want to advise you that I would appreciate the opportunity to respond to the comments made by the House leader with respect to the point of privilege that I raised on the subject of the Auditor General's report and I would appreciate the opportunity to do that tomorrow, if possible.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in three combined visits, which occurred consecutively. The first was the visit of the Mediterranean Special Group, held in La Maddalena, Italy, on July 4 and 5, 2011; the second was the joint meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council, the Sub-Committee on NATO Partnerships and the Sub-Committee on Democratic Governance, held in Kyiv, Ukraine, from July 5 to July 7, 2011; and the third was the visit of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Defence and Security Co-operation, held in Rome, Italy, on July 6 and 7, 2011.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie respecting its participation in six different conferences: first, the International Conference on Benchmarking and Self-Assessment for Democratic Parliaments of the APF in Paris, France, from March 3 to 4, 2010; second, the Meeting of the Parliamentary Network to Fight HIV/AIDS and the Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the APF, held in Casablanca and Marrakech, Morocco, from March 27 to 31, 2010; third, the Parliamentary Seminar on Democracy and Economic Good Governance: The Role of Parliament, held in Cotonou, Benin, from November 10 to 11, 2010; fourth, the Bureau meeting, the Conference of Branch Chairs of the Americas, the Steering Committee of the Network of Women Parliamentarians, the Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee, and the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of the APF, held in Quebec City, Quebec, from January 30 to February 3, 2011; fifth, the Meeting of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the APF, held in Clermont-Ferrand, France, from April 5 to 6, 2011; and finally, the meeting of the Political Committee of the APF, held in Lomé, Togo, from March 14 to 16, 2012.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-France Inter-Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the Meeting of the Standing Committee, held in Paris, France, from March 15 to 16, 2012.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development concerning human rights in North Korea, in particular the fate of Ms. Shin Sook-ja and her two daughters.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the government allowed Barrick Gold, a mining company with a global reputation for its poor environmental and humanitarian practices, to put its name on a room at the Canadian Museum of Nature. It is just a lucky coincidence that I am introducing my bill today, since the basic aim of the bill is to put some controls on this industry abroad.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

Our moral responsibility to future generations is not to help ourselves and leave our children to deal with the fallout. We must protect our children's heritage first and take only what we need. Our development should not only be sustainable and viable over time, but it must also take place with a vision of sharing, respect and solidarity.

Thus, in keeping with this vision of the world, today I am introducing a bill to establish a commission to review the extraterritorial activities of Canadian businesses and entities, and to monitor the behaviour of these businesses and ensure that they act responsibly with regard to the environment and human rights.

People across Quebec, throughout Canada and around the globe have said that these mining companies are taking advantage of the fact that they operate outside of Canada to act irresponsibly and sometimes even illegally. Some business leaders are exploiting the weaknesses of certain countries to do things that they would not dare do where their own families live.

Thus, it is imperative that this government assume its responsibilities and create tools to allow it to monitor all this. Furthermore, this bill ensures that Canadian companies operating abroad espouse our values and become our ambassadors, instead of tarnishing our reputation.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition circulated by the Dogwood Initiative in British Columbia and signed by over 57,000 people, which reflects the large number of people in B.C. who do not support the Enbridge project along our coast.

This petition notes that the pristine coastal waters of northern B.C. have been protected from bulk crude oil tankers by a moratorium on oil tanker traffic since 1972. The petitioners call on the government to convert the moratorium into a permanent ban on tanker traffic. They say that tanker traffic on the west coast poses an unacceptable environmental risk and that an oil spill would be devastating to the economy, to the fragile ecosystem of northern coastal B.C. and to the coastal communities that rely upon it for their livelihoods.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present to the House a petition signed by over 300 of my constituents.

The petition raises concerns about potential health effects related to the electromagnetic radiation emitted from cellphone towers. I share these concerns. I believe the precautionary principle must be used when determining where cellphone towers are installed.

I am happy to present this petition for a response from our government.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Canadians from coast to coast to coast who again take great exception to the government's decision to raise the eligibility age for OAS from 65 to 67, something the Liberal Party would never do.

The petitioners are explaining that for those who work in physically challenging environments and who look forward to retiring in comfort at the age of 65, to now have to work an additional two years is just unconscionable.

The petitioners are suggesting that the government reverse this decision as it would have a drastic impact on our young people who are right now the highest unemployed and underemployed in the country in terms of them being able to find employment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I have previously spoken with respect to the Standing Orders regarding petitions and the fact that a member, when presenting a petition, is not supposed to speak for or against a petition.

Clearly, in this case there was some preference shown for the petition and I think we should follow the rules, the Standing Orders of the House.

Mr. Speaker, ever since the Prime Minister fled to Davos, Switzerland, to announce that he would be raising the age of OAS eligibility from 65 to 67, Canadians from across the country have been signing petitions to urge the government to change its mind.

I am proud to present petitions today signed by literally hundreds of people from my hometown of Hamilton who are joining that campaign.

The petitioners rightly point out that only 31% of Canadians have been able to contribute to RRSPs and, even then, many saw their savings evaporate in the recent market downturn. They also note that only 40% of Canadians have workplace pensions and the future of many of those pension plans is increasingly tenuous.

Since over a quarter of a million seniors are now living in poverty and public pensions provide, at most, $15,000 to the typical retiree, the petitioners are calling upon the government to drop its ill-considered change to the OAS, maintain the current age of eligibility and make the requisite investments in the guaranteed income supplement to lift every senior out of poverty.

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition from constituents in beautiful Langley.

The petitioners state that Canada's 400-year-old definition of a human being states that a child does not become a human being until the moment of complete birth, contrary to 21st century medical evidence.

The petitioners are calling upon Parliament to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian law as a human being by amending section 223 of the Criminal Code in such a way as to reflect 21st century medical evidence.

The petitioners are concerned about the legitimacy of Canada's electoral process and the threat posed to it by the voter suppression that we saw in the last election. They ask that the government to conduct a full inquiry into the voter suppression that occurred, to provide for remedies in case suppression has been found and to create deterrents for voter suppression in future elections.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a petition signed by over 57,000 people, mostly from B.C., who would like to see a permanent legislated ban on oil tanker traffic off B.C.'s coast in order to protect the wonderful environment we have.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of several hundred residents in Essex and Kent counties who call attention to the need for the Thames River, which is a heritage river, to be dredged.

The petitioners are calling upon Parliament to find necessary funds to have the boating channel from the mouth of the Thames River out to Lake St. Clair dredged to a depth of eight feel to allow safe boating access.

The petitioners understand that the government will fund a trial but question the non-announcement announcement. Who was the research team? Why phase I-II when three FDA phase II studies are under way in the U.S., the U.K. wants robust clinical trials, 30,000 procedures have been undertaken in 60 countries, three safety studies involving over 1,000 patients have been done and leading North American physicians and researchers are pushing for phase II-III studies?

The petitioners call upon the Minister of Health to consult experts actively engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of CCSVI to undertake phase III clinical trials on an urgent basis in multiple centres across Canada and to require follow-up care.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to join my B.C. New Democrat colleagues today as we present 57,000 signatures on a petition concerning the protection of the pristine coastal waters of British Columbia forever.

As others have noticed, there has been a moratorium on oil tanker traffic since 1972 but the petitioners feel very strongly, and this is a very strong sentiment in British Columbia, that it is time to strengthen the oil tanker moratorium and turn it from policy into law.

The petitioners call on the government to legislate a ban on oil tankers to protect our coast forever.

We thank the Dogwood Initiative for the tremendous work it has done in gathering so many thousands of petitions that truly reflect the sentiment in British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased as the member for Vancouver Quadra to also be presenting petitions that were collected by Dogwood Initiative.

Many people in Vancouver Quadra are concerned about potential oil spills on the Pacific north coast. They know that, since 1972 when a Liberal government put protection in that area, the Liberals have stood for protecting the environment and for excluding oil tankers from the Pacific north coast. We continue to stand for excluding tankers in that area because of the environmental risks.

I am pleased to be tabling the names of those who agree with the sentiment and we call on the government to pay attention.